"Thy Kingdom Come"

By T. M. Schryver

. . . Surely, I come quickly.

- Revelation 22:20

When Christ was with His disciples prior to the beginning of the Church at Pentecost, He taught them the great doctrines that they should know and pass on after His death and resurrection. Among those important teachings were the fact that every man and woman are sinners; all need the Savior to be their own Redeemer; and that He, Jesus Christ will come to earth a second time to set up and rule over His earthly Kingdom. For three centuries these were the main teachings of the Church. Then, around 300 A.D., some men opposed many of Christs teachings, especially concerning His promise about the coming Kingdom on the earth and caused this great doctrine to be removed from the Church.

The coming Millennial Kingdom is the leading subject of the preaching of John the Baptist, Jesus Christ, and the Apostles. Its teaching embraces a larger portion of Scripture revelation than all other subjects combined!

If youre a Christian, you need to be looking for Christs call to you heavenward. Hes even at the door!

Hopefully, this book will help to get you ready to meet Christ when He calls and it will be sooner than you think!

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: May 22, 2015
• ISBN: 9781490880389

T. M. Schryver

Tom Schryver attended Arlington Baptist Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, and Baptist Bible College of Denver. He has published a Bible study workbook, Scriptures in Verse, and has had many poems published in national anthology works. He believes the Old and New Testaments are inspired by God and divinely protected and the Word is infallible, immutable, and without error. He has served as a pastor and Bible teacher in Oklahoma and Colorado for forty years. His specific areas of study and teaching are soteriology and eschatology, and he believes the Church should be looking for the rapture to come at any moment.

Book preview

Thy Kingdom Come

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Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

—Matthew 6:10

T. M. Schryver

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Copyright © 2015 Tom M. Schryver.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

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WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

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Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-4908-8037-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-8039-6 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-8038-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015907576

WestBow Press rev. date: 05/21/2015

Contents

Acknowledgment

Introduction

Chapter 1   Thy Word Is Truth

Chapter 2   The Covenants

Chapter 3   The Promise of the Millennial Kingdom

Chapter 4   The Tribulation

Chapter 5   The Church Goes Home

Chapter 6   The Kingdom of Heaven

Chapter 7   Kingdom Worship

Chapter 8   The Kingdom of God: His Eternal Reign in Heaven

Notes

Appendix 1   Four sermons about Heaven

Heaven   A Sermon by D. L. Moody

Glory!   A Sermon by C. H. Spurgeon

The Second Coming Of Christ   A Sermon by Billy Sunday

The Bliss Of The Glorified   A Sermon by C.H. Spurgeon

Appendix 2   Some Gospel lyrics about heaven

I dedicate this book to my new great-granddaughter, Pebbles.

Acknowledgment

Thanks to my dear wife, Gwen, of many years for her great help, not only in this endeavor but also in preparing our previous work, Scriptures in Verse. She has labored diligently in being the peacemaker between me and my computer, and she has helped to calm me down when I have become exasperated with my ignorance of any technology more advanced than a manual typewriter.

Introduction

Every Bible-believing Christian should be looking forward to being in that wonderful place called heaven. We must remember that the Bible says that heaven is an actual place, a real place where we, the saved of God, will reside with our Lord forever in our glorified bodies!

I believe that God is excited about the home He has built for His people, and we ought to be looking forward to it as well because heaven is the ultimate prize for those of us who have trusted Christ.

The Bible means what it says and says what it means, literally. The miracles in both the Old and New Testaments were real miracles. Jesus declared that He was going to prepare a place for us in heaven, but some folks think that the reality of such a place is just too good to be true. Consequently, they spiritualize it, relegating our future heavenly home to nothing more than mere symbolism.

I believe that God wants us to think—and talk—about heaven! It’s a great motivator. We don’t have to spend all of our time debating and discussing this marvelous subject, but what in the world is the matter with making it a topic of conversation now and then? What’s the matter with anticipating its wonders with fellow Christians, or even folks who are lost?

Lots of people have come to consider their eternal future simply because they were presented with the truths of the gospel and were told that if they rejected salvation, their final destination would be hell. Certainly no one wants to go there! Wouldn’t relaying the message of the Christian’s heavenly home in eternity be at least as effective as telling a lost soul the fact that if they don’t receive Christ as their Savior, their final abode will be in the lake of fire?

Yet the average Christian is not even aware that the Bible says that there are two heavens to come — the millennial kingdom of heaven on earth, and the eternal kingdom of God over the whole universe—and that their beginnings will be separated by more than a thousand years.

As Christians, we are obliged to proclaim the gospel of Christ to the world. Isn’t His promise of heaven to whosoever will a part of the gospel? Isn’t the fact that Christians have a heaven to go to in eternity a great incentive to induce someone to at least consider becoming a Christian?

I hope that this book helps, motivates, and edifies you. I hope that after reading it, you will have conversations about our coming heavenly home in eternity with fellow Christians—and with those who have yet to accept Christ for their salvation!

Thy Kingdom Come was written to help Christians who desire to know more about the coming events that the Bible tells us will happen when the Church is caught up and we go into our heavenly eternity! It is an effort to bring the reader into a basic knowledge concerning the absolute truth of the Bible, the rapture, the coming Judgment Seat of Christ, Christ’s millennial kingdom to come on the earth, and God’s eternal universal Kingdom of Heaven over all creation. Each statement that the author makes on a specific Bible doctrine is substantiated with Scripture. It is a clear and easy read, written in order to help the student’s understanding of the proper sequence of prophetical Bible events that are soon to come. Many opinions of the greatest Bible theologians of the last two centuries are cited concerning the fulfillment of end times prophecy. Can we take the Scriptures at their face value? Does the Bible really mean what it says? What parts of the Word do we take literally or symbolically? What is the Church’s role in the millennial reign of Christ? Who will be the citizens of the earthly Kingdom? What is Heaven really going to be like? These are just a few of the many questions that are presented in Thy Kingdom Come. It will make for a great round-table discussion both in a classroom setting or in a private study of the coming spectacular events that are on our immediate horizon!

1

Thy Word Is Truth

If you don’t believe the Truth, you will believe the lie. Thy word is truth (John 17:17).

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works (2 Timothy 3:16–17).

For the prophecy [the Bible] came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost (2 Peter 1:21).

In today’s world, there is an abundance of different translations and paraphrases of the Bible, including the King James Version, the New American Standard Version, and numerous other editions published in modern English. There are also various legitimate study Bibles, which attempt to clarify the more difficult passages. However, great care needs to be exercised when choosing a version of God’s Word because there are some organizations that fabricate or omit key elemental doctrines. Some even change wording or punctuation in order to give credence to their own unbiblical views.

The writers and editors of those ravaged versions are well warned by the following quote from the Authorized King James Version of the Bible: For I testify unto every man that hears the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book (Revelation 22:18–19).

For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist (2 John v. 7).

The Old Testament declares more than four hundred and eighteen times, Thus saith the Lord, and the words God said occur forty-six times in the New Testament. In 1 Kings, 2 Samuel, Zechariah, and other Scripture passages, the Word declares that God spoke or came upon His prophets with His Word.

The power of God easily keeps His Word, the Bible, just as faultless, infallible, inerrant, and understandable for us today as it was for the first generation of people who received it.

For [now] we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away (1 Corinthians 13:9–10).

In his Commentary on the Holy Bible, Mathew Henry¹ says, When that which is perfect (Christ) is come, then that which is in part (prophecy), shall be done away. When the end is once attained, the means will be abolished. There will be no need of tongues, and prophecy, and inspired knowledge, in a future life; then the church will be complete both in knowledge and holiness.

The Bible translations that honor the original Word will be protected by God to the end of our age. The essential doctrines concerning salvation, redemption, forgiveness, the coming kingdom, heaven, hell, and other topics will never change. God meant for these truths to be understandable to everyone who has attained unto accountability. His Word is immutable, and if people genuinely seek the truth, they shall find it.

Jesus stated in Luke 11:9–10, And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asks, receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened.

And ye shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall make you free (John 8:32).

God knows our languages, and He desires to communicate with us. Because He is all-wise and all-loving, His Word is written to us so that we might understand it in its literal, normal, and plain sense. If we consign the Scriptures to being mostly symbolic, then confusion, doubt, and spiritual unsettlement will result.

Grace and Truth came by Jesus Christ (John 1:17).

There is no end to the variety of people’s imaginations and the conclusions they arrive at if they over-spiritualize or interpret the Bible allegorically. If one does not use the literal method, all objectivity is lost! Scripture will correctly interpret itself if studied with prayer, in the proper context, and under the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5).

Our sovereign God is the sole author of the Bible, and those persons He chose to pen His Word were simply His scribes, who were allowed to retain their own distinct personalities. God’s Word is perfect and immutable.

Forever, O Lord, thy Word is settled in heaven (Psalm 119:89). Concerning Thy testimonies, I have known of old that Thou hast founded them forever (Psalm 119:152). Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my Word shall not pass away (Matthew 24:35).

Prophecies and Salvation: Jesus Christ, the Messiah

From the outset, God has made certain promises to mankind because of His desire to restore the fellowship that was lost because of sin. The first of God’s promises stating that He would send the Messiah (Jesus Christ) to pay man’s sin debt is found in Genesis 3:15: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. That enmity was Jesus Christ, God’s bridge that allowed mankind to return from his fallen condition and his alliance with satanic influence, which together had brought forth sin.

More than thirty-five specific prophecies in the Bible tell of various particulars about Christ’s first advent, including His birth into this world, His birthplace, fleshly ancestors, His virgin mother, His physical death and resurrection, and other events relevant to His first coming. (See Genesis 22:18; 49:10; Isaiah 11:1, 10; Jeremiah 23:5; Luke 1:54; Acts 3:25; Galatians 3:16; Isaiah 7:14; Micah 5:2; and so on.)

Wherever we are in world history, our situation is but a fulfillment of God’s perfect plan. Every occurrence in mankind’s future that God has shared with us through His prophets will be fulfilled literally.

A virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14). The faithful received this prophecy as it was stated. Therefore, they knew that one of the signs to look for concerning the Messiah’s coming was His literal and physical birth to a virgin mother.

Micah 5:2 predicted that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, a small village of little importance. Thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. The faithful went along with this announcement and knew where to look for the Messiah.

Prior to Christ’s birth, the people who, by faith, believed and accepted the oral and written promises about His coming were considered by God to be His people; but those who lacked faith and did not believe were not His people. It’s the same today. On this side of the cross, only if people believe, by faith, and accept Jesus Christ as their Savior, have they become saved, or born-again.

Jesus said in John 3:3: Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.

Because of God’s great love, He made a way. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16).

But 1 John 4:3 says, Every spirit that confesses not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God.

However, John 1:12–14 says, But as many as received Him, to them gave he power to become sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.

All who reject or ignore Jesus Christ and His atonement will remain in their sin and will someday be judged at the great white throne judgment—on their own merits. They will be found guilty and will be cast into the lake of fire.

And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is